Open House confirmed in me that Campbell is a terrific choice

By Billy Liggett | Director of News & Publications

Hayley was two months shy of her second birthday on the day I began my career in higher ed communications and marketing at Campbell University. I was in the newspaper industry for the first 22 months of her life, which meant terrible hours and missing out on a lot of her “firsts.” 

Campbell would allow me to be more present — and one of the pitches during the hiring process at the time was, “Think about her tuition in 16 years … that’s one of the benefits of working in private higher education.” 

It’s almost 16 years later, and this past week, I took part in another major “first” in Hayley’s life — her first college visit. 

We attended Campbell’s Open House on Wednesday, an event that drew more than 250 high school students and their families and nearly packed the Hobson Performance Center for that morning’s presentation. My daughter and her two younger brothers have known Campbell their entire lives — they’ve attended many, many Homecoming parades and sporting events, and they’ve accompanied their old man to work countless times. 

But Wednesday was different for her, and for me. The Open House, to her, was like touring a potential new home — could she see herself as a Fighting Camel for four years and beyond? Could it prepare her for a career in the health sciences? Or in writing? Or in whatever she decides she wants to be in the next year and a half? 

For me, it was a chance to see Campbell from a different perspective. I’ve spent the last 16 years writing about the people and the programs here and promoting this school that I’ve grown to love to others in hopes they will see it the way I do. But on Wednesday, I was also “touring the new home,” doing my best to see it with fresh eyes and in a more critical light.

The good news — I was impressed. (The better news … Hayley was, too). 

If this was my first impression, it was a positive one. President Downs and the Admissions team, led by Vice President Dean Clark, welcomed the group in Hobson that morning, and Downs — who has been here a little over a year now — talked about his own first impression of Campbell during his hiring process.

“Everything everybody told me when I was thinking about, deliberating about, trying to figure out whether this was the place for me … every promise that was made to me has come true,” he said. “And that means when they talk to me about a world class set of academic degree programs, that’s what we have. When they talk to me about a set of faculty and staff who authentically, truly care about the success and well-being of our students, that has borne out true. When they talk to me about an authentic, vibrant, tightly knit Christian community at this place, that too has been true. … My family and I are more and more thrilled each and every day that we chose to come to Campbell.”

We paid less attention to the buildings and trees on campus during our group tour and focused more on the students who currently attend Campbell. Hayley and I noticed friends walking with each other, smiling and laughing. We noticed full classrooms and busy hallways. Students in the cafeteria. Lots of orange. A vibrant community on a gorgeous autumn day.

That afternoon, we toured the med school with a small group of families, and again, the labs and lecture halls I’ve been walking through since before they were completed took on a different look. I could see my daughter in a white coat one day (soon). 

It was a proud day. Proud of her. Proud of the place where I work. I’ve always said, if you’re considered an alumnus after spending just four years at a school, there needs to be a bigger word when you’ve been with a school for double, triple or four times that amount of time. 

I’ve told Hayley her entire life that she doesn’t have to attend Campbell. She’ll see several more campuses in the coming months, and each will put on their best face to convince her they’re the right choice. 

But Campbell will always be there, and Wednesday showed her — and confirmed to me — that it’s a terrific option.